Acheulean

American  

[uh-shoo-lee-uhn] / əˈʃu li ən /

Or Acheulian

adjective

1. of, relating to, or typical of a Lower Paleolithic culture of the middle Pleistocene Epoch, characterized by large hand axes and cleavers made by the soft hammer technique.

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Etymology

Origin of Acheulean

1890–95; < French acheuléen, named after St. Acheul, N France (Somme) (where remains were found) + -éen, variant of -ien (< Latin -iānus -ian ), originally with nouns ending in -é

Example Sentences

Excavated within the Oulad Hamida Formation, Thomas Quarry I is already known for containing the oldest Acheulean tools in north-western Africa, dated to about 1.3 million years ago.

From Science Daily • Feb. 7, 2026

“There were probably long periods of experimentation moving from Acheulean to the Middle Stone Age,” she said.

From Washington Post • Mar. 15, 2018

Even though H. erectus in East Africa had invented hand axes, part of the so-called Acheulean toolkit, by 1.76 million years ago, none have been found here at Dmanisi.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 22, 2016

The earliest dated Acheulean is about 1.75 million years ago from southern Ethiopia and from Lake Turkana in Kenya.

From Scientific American • Aug. 19, 2015

Acheulean culture, 11, 14 Achinese, the, 223, 238 sq.

From Man, Past and Present by Haddon, Alfred Court